The Sword and the Promise by Jaffrey Clark

Writing an allegory with a gospel flavor is a tough task. Clark has done a good job of creating a world where good and evil are in a battle for survival. The evil Mornoc and his nefarious scouts are a good allegory to the devil and his minions. On the good side are faithful people who believe the Promise from so long ago. There is a promised one who will come to rescue his people. But it has been so long and some no longer are convinced the Promise is true.

This is a good beginning to an epic fantasy adventure in the style of Lewis or Tolkien. There are heroic characters faithful to the Promise. There are spies from the dark side. There is the hope of renewed life in the midst of the death of Mornoc's mountain refuge. There are epic battles. There is a princess and the hint of a romance.

Readers are left wanting more at the end of this volume. Mornoc thinks he has the upper hand and the good people of the Promise must try a rescue before all is lost. I'll be looking for the next in the series.

You can see a map of the land and read more about the plot and the characters in this novel at https://www.jaffreyclark.com/the-reapers-seed.html. I was interested to read about the origin of the character names and their meanings. If you plan to read this novel, I'd suggest you check out the site first and I think that will give additional meaning to the novel's content as you read.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

Jaffrey Clark has been telling stories since childhood. While studying accounting at Penn State University, he started writing his first novel. That one remains unfinished but he is well on his way in publishing several fantasy novels. He lives in Pennsylvania with his wife and their two children. You can find out more at https://www.jaffreyclark.com/.

Jaffrey Clark, 268 pages.

I received a complimentary digital copy of this book from the author. My comments are an independent and honest review.